July 21, 2026
Column
Thoughts from the Crossroads – Army Museum
Dear Readers, recently I visited the National Museum of the United States Army, located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Blessed Assurance – Friendship
Ihave been blessed to have many friends over the course of my life. I have very few “close” friends – those are the chums from my youth, the ones with whom I grew. Common wisdom states that it gets harder to make and keep friends as we age. I have not found that to be true.
Roadside History – Swan Tavern and Jack Jouett
Captain John Jouett, Sr., and his wife Mourning Glenn Harris were the parents of John Jouett, Jr. (Jack). Jack’s father owned and/or operated the Swan Tavern in Charlottesville and farmed a property near Cuckoo at a crossroads in Louisa County. Jouett family ancestors were French Huguenots emigrated from Normandy in France to Rhode Island in the American Colony, and later to Virginia in the early 1700’s. Louisa records for September 14, 1767, show that John Jouett renewed a license to keep an ordinary (tavern) in his house at a farm in Louisa County. 1
Blessed Assurance – Growing up
For all of us at some point in our lives we dreamed about being older. The older kids always had more freedom (at least that was my perception) and they were able to do so much more than I.
Thoughts from the Crossroads – Monticello
Dear Readers, Independence Day has come and gone, but America’s semiquincentennial year continues! Famed Virginian Thomas Jefferson was pivotal to the colonies breaking away from England, and today I’m writing about his mountaintop home, Monticello. I’ve been there many times over the past couple of decades and it’s always a fun and interesting experience. The first time Rick took me to see Monticello, I remember he deliberately paid for our tickets in cash. That meant he was given back change, and part of his change was a two-dollar bill! How often do you see that? He promptly handed it over to me as a little souvenir of my visit, and I admired TJ’s portrait on the front of the bill. I thought it was so cool that Monticello did that. Of course, instead the twodollar bill, Monticello could give back 40 nickels, which sport a likeness of Monticello on their reverse side. But that would be much heavier and bulky!
Letters from Dogwood – No Techie am I
The other day I ran across a Facebook meme which featured an old fellow complaining about today’s frequent use of texting terms and abbreviations. Someone had sent him the message “GM,” and he was not about to be stumped by that. He replied, “General Motors to you, also!”
On & Off Earth – Exasperated with the extremes
The use of superlatives in our world has reduced their original impact to the mundane; neither a pizza nor a sandwich will ever be: ‘epic’. Very little that happens on a daily basis is ‘unbelievable’ any more. One word that does seem to be holding up, either as an adjective or a noun, is the word, extreme.
Thoughts from the Crossroads – “Give me liberty or give me death!”
In honor of the rapidly approaching Independence Day holiday, today’s column is about the speaker of that famous quote - Founding Father Patrick Henry. We are all familiar with his famous line, delivered to the second Virginia Convention in 1775, but how much do you know about the man otherwise? I must admit until very recently my knowledge was woefully pitiful. But I’ve learned a bit, so here goes.
Blessed Assurance – Becoming
am in a season where many beginnings are happening.
Thoughts from the Crossroads – Fort Bragg
Dear Readers, when I left you last week, Rick and I were departing our hotel in San Francisco and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge to head north. We drove the coastal highway all the way up to Fort Bragg, enjoying the scenic ocean views.